ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
Yes, the cat is out of the bag.
Though Wayland Union Schools Supt. Dr. Christina Hinds apparently is not leaving for Kalkaska after all, the real news is that she is looking for work elsewhere after less than a year on the job.
This proves what I and others have suspected for some time — the relationship between the Board of Education and superintendent is less than positive. It belies what board members publicly have tried to cover up with a phony “everything’s all right” approach during meetings.
This has been a difficult academic year indeed, but board members’ impatience with the hybrid and virtual instruction models has made things even worse. Sometimes, it’s felt like some board members have taken more seriously in-person classroom instruction and athletics than the health, safety and welfare of the kids.
Some people reacting to this news have brought up that ancient albatross known as bullying, which has plagued Wayland for more than a decade. I submit that Wayland schools don’t really have a bullying problem worse than other schools, but its nasty habit of denial is more than obvious.
I don’t believe board members have personally bullied Dr. Hinds, but I do believe most sincerely at least three board members have strong connections to athletics and the unfortunate and wrong-headed “Let ‘Em Play” movement last February. The ringleader of that group appeared before Rep. Steve Johnson and the House Oversight Committee for a Kangaroo Court hearing in which no testimony was heard from other side.
So Wayland and other districts then finally agreed to “Let ‘Em Play” and the students went back to the classrooms. Less than two months later, School Board members narrowly voted to go against recommendations of the Allegan County Health Department and return to in-house instruction, but by April 27 they were forced to go back to the hybrid.
I’m certain some will argue that Hopkins and Martin were able to go back to school without any health problems, but Wayland and other districts, such as Caledonia and Thornapple Kellogg, weren’t so fortunate.
I stumbled onto social media commentary by a board member’s spouse angered that his child wasn’t playing during the winter and I noted that the board president is a serious jock who clearly stated his preference for opening up the schools.
There are times I have come to the conclusion that we as a society place far too much importance on athletics.
It is athletics that has an uncomfortable relationship with bullying, and in Wayland I have personally experienced it and the reaction of school officials to my complaint was to circle the wagons.
Dr. Hinds’ predecessor very publicly professed his support for Donald Trump, the most famous bully on the planet. He and former Dorr Principal Kevin Zaschak were permitted to engage in extra-curricular activities similar to what cost Cheri Ritz her job as athletic director.
There have been times mothers have come to school board meetings and taken their children to other districts because of their perception that Wayland has a bullying problem. The real problem, which is so common these days, is that school officials are in denial.
“Denial is more than just a river in Egypt.”
9 Comments